Family Unpredictability Scale (FUS)

Ross and Hill‚ 2000
1.    Child Gets away with misbeha‎ving
2.    Parent yells at child
3.    Kids get away with breaking rules
4.    How parent acts in situation depends on their mood
5.    Discipline of child depends on parent’s mood.
6.    How parents act is unpredictable
7.    Weekly dinner is at the same time
8.    Hard to predict what time meals will be
9.    Weekdays the same family members eat together.
10.It is easier if everyone gets his or her own dinner
11.People leave home without breakfast.
12.Child comes to parent for first aid.
13.Child can count on parent.
14.Child can go to parent for comfort.
15.Parent Lets child know they are important to them.
16.Child can tell parent if something bothers them.
17.Consistent amount of affection.
18.Parent spends time with each child each day.
19.Parents were never sure how to pay bills.
20.There was Enough money for food and house.
21.Some months plenty‚ some months poor.
Ross and Hill‚ 2004
1.    I spend time with each individual child each day. R
2.    On weekdays (Monday through Friday)‚ dinner is at the same time each night. R
3.    When the children have an injury‚ they come to me for first aid. R
4.    We are never sure how we will pay our bills from month to month.
5.    I keep changing my mind about rules for the children.
6.    It’s hard to predict what time meals will be.
7.    My children can count on me to get them where they need to be. R
8.    How I’ll act in a specific situation depends on my mood.
9.    Our family always has enough money for food and a rent or mortgage payment. R
10.I let the kids get away with breaking the rules
11.When our children get their feelings hurt‚ they come to me for comfort. R
12.Sometimes I yell at my children without thinking about what I’m saying.
13.Monday through Friday‚ the same people sit down and eat dinner together. R
14.I let my children know on a regular basis that they’re important to me‚ R
15.Whether or not I discipline the children when they act up depends on my mood at the time.
16.My children tell me when something is bothering them. R
17.On weekdays‚ it’s easier if everyone just gets their own dinner.
18.How I’ll act from one situation to another is unpredictable.
19.I show my children the same amount of affection from day to day. R
20.People leave home without eating breakfast.
21.Some months we have plenty of money to spend‚ other months we’re quite poor.
22.When I catch the children misbeha‎ving‚ they get away with it.
R indicates reverse coding for that item
Nurturance‚ Finances‚ Discipline and Meals
 
 “1=Disagree” to “5= Agree Strongly”
“1 = not at” all to “5= extremely”
 
This instrument can be found at: Fischer‚ Joel.‚ Corcoran‚ Kevin J. (2007 ). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY. Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1‚ Page (s): 335-337. & At: Stephens‚ Kamie
 

Ross‚ L. T.‚ & Hill‚ E. M. (2000). The Family Unpredictability Scale: Reliability and alidity. Journal of Marriage and the Family‚ 62‚ 549–562.

Ross‚ L. T.‚ & Hill‚ E. M. (2002). Childhood unpredictability‚ schemas for future unpredictability‚ and risk taking. Social Behavior and Personality‚ 30(5)‚ 453-474.

Ross‚ L. T.‚ & Hill‚ E. M. (2004). Comparing alcoholic and non-alcoholic parents on the Family Unpredictability Scale. Psychological Reports‚ 94‚ 1358–1391.

Ross‚ Lisa Thomson and McDuff‚ Jennifer A. (2008). The Retrospective Family Unpredictability Scale: Reliability and Validity. Journal of Child and Family Studies‚ 17(1)‚ 13–27.

Ross‚ L. T.‚ & Hill‚ E. M. (2004). Family Unpredictability Scale (FUS). In Fischer‚ Joel.‚ Corcoran‚ Kevin J. (2007 ). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY. Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1‚ Page (s): 335-337.

Stephens‚ Kamie L.‚ (2016). “Relationship Between Parental Alcoholism and Family Unpredictability” (2016). Honors Theses. Paper 366.

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